We discussed that night is a time for rest and sleep for most people, while it is the time of evil and wrong-doing for Satan and his allies.The night's evil may come from harmful creatures, jinns, magic, and countless evil practices by degenerate people.
The Prophet (peace be upon Him) provided us with a set of instruction for warding off the night's evils. We discuss these in the rest of this section. Extolling Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), which is the effective form of protection, will be discussed in the subsequent part.
1. Pronouncing Allah's Name
Pronouncing Allah's name is to say, "بسم الله ─ bism Ilah ─ with Allah's Name". This is an affirmation that what we do is by Allah's will, help, and protection.
Pronouncing Allah's name upon entering the home in the evening inhibits the devils from entering that home. Jabir (may Allah be pleased with Him) reported that the Prophet (Peace and Blessing be upon Him) said:
When a person invokes Allah upon entering his home and over his food, Satan tells his allies, "There is no lodging or food for you (in this house tonight)." But if that person enters his home without invoking Allah, Satan says to his allies, "You have secured lodging." And if he does not invoke Allah over his food, Satan says, "You have secured both lodging and food." [Recorded by Muslim (2018) and Abu Dawud]
"Invoking Allah (Exalted is He)" in this hadith is general, and may be done with various types of dhikr, but it mostly pertains to pronouncing Allah's name ─ as will become apparent from the forthcoming hadiths about closing the doors and covering the food.
2. Staying Indoors
When the sun sets, the children should be kept indoors so as to protect them from the night's harm that we discussed above.
Jabir (may Allah be pleased with Him) reported that the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) said:
When the night sets in, restrain your children (from playing) until the peak of dusk ends, because devils spread at that time. When an hour of the night has passed, you may release them. [Recorded by al-Bukhārī (3304, 5623), Muslim (2012, 2013) and others.]
This hadith indicates that there is a "peak" for the spread of evil, which extends for an hour, starting from sunset. This peak-time is especially harmful for children: They should be restrained during it from playing outdoors, or playing roughly indoors. After this hour has passed, the children may be released and allowed a brief time of playing before heading for bed.
After the quietness (of the night), go outdoors only sparsely (i.e., only for what is necessary), for indeed, Allah has creation that He lets loose them. [Recorded by Abu Dawud and al-Bukhārī (in al-adab ul-Mufrad nos. 1233, 1235). Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (in as-Sahihah no. 1518)]
Similar to this, Jabir (may Allah be pleased with Him) also reported that the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) said:
Beware of (going out for) chatting after the quietness of the night, because you cannot know what Allah (Exalted is He) brings out of His creation. [Recorded by al-Hakim. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (as-Sahihah no. 1752).]
3. Closing the Doors
At night, we are urged to close the outside doors, uttering Allah's name as we do. Jabir Bin Abdillah (may Allah be pleased with Him) reported that the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) said:
When the nights sets in, close the doors and utter Allah's name over them. Indeed, Satan would not open a closed door upon which Allah's Name was uttered. [Recorded by al-Bukhari (3304, 5623), Muslim (2012, 2013), and others.]
4. Covering the Food
We should cover our food and drinks at night ─ while uttering Allah's name Jabir Bin Abdillah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) said:
When the night sets in, close large jars and tie the water skins, and pronounce Allah's name and cover food vessels ─ even if only by placing a stick across their opening, pronounce Allah's name. Indeed, the Devil would not open or uncover closed vessels. [Recorded by al-Bukhari (3304, 5623), Muslim (2012, 2013), and others.]
And Jabir (may Allah be pleased with Him) also reported that the Prophet (peace be upon Him) said:
Cover your vessel and tie your water skins, Indeed, one night every year, a disease comes down (i.e., by Allah's decree). Whenever this disease passes by an uncovered utensil or water skin, it descends into it. [Recorded by Muslim (2014)]
These hadiths teach us an important hygienic etiquette: that we should never leave uncovered food during the night. Even if we have no cover other that a twig, we should use it rather than keep the food completely uncovered. Covering the food protects against insects, lizards, and other creatures that may bring harm into it. When we do what we can, and then pronounce Allah's name. He will surely protects us from other harms that are beyond our normal control.
5. Extinguishing Fires
We are also urged to extinguish all fires before sleeping at night. Jabir Bin Abdillah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) said:
Abdullah Bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a mouse once came into the Prophet's (Peace be Upon Him) house and pulled at the lamp's wick until it dropped it upon a rug where Prophet (Peace be upon Him) was sitting, producing a coin-size burn on it. The Prophet (Peace be upon Him) then said:
When the night set in, extinguish the (oil) lantern, for, indeed, the little evil one (i.e., the mouse) burns people's houses. [Recorded by al-Bukhari (3304, 5623), Muslim (2112, 2013), and others.]
When you go to sleep, extinguish your lambs, because the devil would lead the likes of this (mouse) to that (wick) so as to burn you. [Recorded by Abu Dawud, al Bukhari (in adab al-Mufrad no. 1222) and others. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (as-Sahihah no. 1426)]
Abdullah Bin Umar and Abu Musa al-Ashari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (Peace be upon Him) said:
Do not leave the fire lightened in your homes when you go to sleep, because it is an enemy to you. So when you go to sleep, extinguish it. [Recorded by al-Bukhari (6293, 6294), Muslim (2015, 2016) and others.]
Therefore, all open fire that may somehow become out of control if left unattended during a long sleep should be extinguished before sleeping. This may include kerosene lamps, gas space-heaters, gas cooking-furnaces, bonfires, etc.
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